London’s skyscraper skyline plan offers a hint that the days of remote work may be numbered

Ten monster buildings are set to be built in the financial capital, offering high-end office space for industries including technology, media, creative and education according to Shravan Joshi, chairman of the planning and transportation committee. in the town.

In an interview with the Evening Standard, Joshi confirmed the behemoths will “change or add to” the UK capital’s iconic skyline.

However, the massive investment in London’s Square Mile suggests that major employers are shifting their attention back to hiring office staff with new working patterns emerging.

Paul Swinney, director of policy and research at the think tank Center for Cities, says the fact that developers are willing to splash the cash on multi-million-pound investments suggests the days of fully remote working are over. can be counted.

“In economic terms, corporations want to consolidate because it gives them easy access to clients and partners as well as their competitors, so we see places like the City of London or Manhattan that’s booming,” he said.

“Despite the growing demand, the price of land has increased causing businesses and developers to start looking higher rather than wider – giving us skyscrapers. That fact that developers have enough confidence to invest in office skyscrapers tells us that they are happy people to return to their seats.

Joshi has already confirmed that several of the major developments have anchor tenants in place, and data from Transport for London reveals that tube journeys are back to near pre-pandemic levels.

Analysts Placemake.io and Visitor Insights suggest that the The typical working week in the office is now Tuesday through Thursday, based on data obtained from commuters’ mobile phones. As such infrastructures such as transportation need to be improved, Swinney said.

“Studies suggest that if these buildings have a more distinctive appearance – such as the Gherkin or the Shard – they are more likely to get planning permission because of the bias of the planning authorities.

“Planners like unusual buildings – they want something that represents the fact that London is part of a global economy,” he added.

Why is the skyline important?

2023 will see many new landmark buildings being created around the world. The Wuhan Greenland Center in China, with a height of 475m is expected to be completed this year.

In Austin, Texas, projects such as the 80-story, 1,035-foot residence The Wilson Tower skyscraper will continue to progress after being announced late last year.

For hybrid workers heading to major metropolitan hubs, the sight of structures such as skyscrapers can act as a form of motivation, said Professor Ruth Dalton, who specializes in architecture and psychology.

He explains: “People have a mental expectation of what a place should look like, when we know we’re going to be in a densely populated area, we expect an architectural intensity.

“In London and other big cities we expect to see tall buildings, so if we go to the suburbs and see tall buildings we might be confused by that. In contrast, for hybrid workers who travel to big cities, we find it reassuring to see skyscrapers. This indicates to us that this is where important work or meetings are completed.”

Even with its ten new additions, the UK capital may have the most tall buildings to its name.

Destinations with the most skyscrapers on their skylines include Hong Kong, New York City, Shenzhen, Dubai, Tokyo and Shanghai.

“Evidence also suggests that we want our skylines to be diverse – with different heights, shapes and silhouettes. When we look at nature complexity pleases people and we want to see that in our environments too – we don’t want to see the same buildings repeated at the same distance.

“If we study people who look at skylines with more complexity we see that they get more pleasure from it,” Dalton added.

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